Engor XI
World: 'Engor XI *'Location: 'Core Worlds *'Type: 'Ocean World *'Tithe: 'Nix Engor XI is not under the control of the Imperium *'Population: ' **'Human: '2.1 million 100 000 **'Engorian: 'Unknown, approximated to be several million. *'Government: **'Human: '''Independent feudalism. Though there is no official system of governence, those who control the orbital stations and processing platforms hold absolute power over those they employ and/or house. **'Engorian:' Monarchic tribalism. 'Description' Engor XI is a world totally covered in ocean, and rife with massive hurricanes and storms that bellow across the water unceasingly. A unique feature of Engor XI is the ''Engorian Whale, a massive water mammal that can measure between 1-2 kilometres long. The dozen orbital stations located above the planet, and the processing platforms located in the oceans, are all operated for the purpose of facilitating the hunting of Engorian whales, which are the planet's only meaningful resource. Each whale corpse - once processed - produces a host of valuable byproducts in varying volumes. High quality engine oils, pharmaceuticals and chemicals used in cosmetics are just some of them. Dock workers and professional hunting guides inhabit the orbital stations, while whale corpse processors occupy the platforms. In any given year Engor XI will host dozens of independents such as Rogue Traders & Chartist Captains looking to hunt an Engorian whale for both profit and the experience. The world's inhabitants are sustained by taking a substantial commission from the sale of the byproducts produced from each whale, in exchange for processing the corpse and allowing the hunt in the first place. Hunting an Engorian whale involves allowing oneself to be swallowed before navigating its internals and destroying vital organs. The insides of an Engorian whale are massive and inhabited by a variety of dangerous parasites that can attack & kill foolish and/or unprepared hunters. For this reason most hunters will hire a professional guide from the stations who receive their own cut of the profits in exchange for keeping their client alive inside the whale and guiding them through the tubes and organs. Engor XI is also home to a species of intelligent xenos, called Engorians. Engorians are humanoid aquatic mammals, approximately eight feet tall with tough shark-like skin, covered in fins of various sizes with a dense, lithe musculature and a complex respiratory system that allows them to breathe both water and airborne oxygen. They are individually strong melee fighters and very powerful swimmers, but their woefully primitive technology and lack of a unified planetary society severely limits the military strength they can project. The Engorian race is of such little threat and significance that they are all-but-ignored by the Imperium, and the humans that occupy Engor XI have a mostly benign & peaceful accord with the native xenos, both sides preferring to ignore each other. Some of the less pious humans of Engor XI also engage in trade with the native Engorians, exchanging certain pieces of Imperial technology for lush pearls, rare fish and treasures the Engorians find on the ocean floors. *'Technology:' **'Human: '– Imperial The stations and processing platforms utilise robust and easily maintainable Imperial technology. **'Engorian:' - Primitive The native xenos' technology is limited to spears and underwater dwellings constructed among coral reefs or chiselled into undersea rock faces. *'Military:' **'Human: '''The orbital stations are armed, and some have escort ships. A good number of the planet's inhabitants could form an ad hoc militia, but trained combatants are limited to the relatively small number of enforcers employed by stationmasters. **'Engorian:' Every tribe has a respectable number of dedicated warriors. But while an Engorian is a strong, fast and skilled melee combatant (on land but especially so in water), their lack of advanced technology severely hampers the abilities of their tribal warriors, and a few good lasgun shots will put down an Engorian with little trouble. *'Strategic importance: Nix This planet is of no strategic concern to the Imperium. *'''Loyalty: **'Human: '75% Engor XI's population are all Imperial in origin and maintain the culture, such as worship of the Emperor and obedience to the Imperium if ordered (though this happens rarely). However the lack of direct Imperial control can leave room for seperatism and makes Engor XI an acceptable haven for people fleeing the Imperium. **'Engorian: '95% Engorians know little else aside from their own tribe. Though a precious few have been known to accept employment from unscrupulous Chartist Captains & Rogue Traders (and occasionally even Ordo Xenos Inquisitors). The Engorian Whale The Engorian whale is a colossal water mammal that reaches kilometres in length. They spend the majority of their lives deep down in the depths of Engor XI's hundred kilometre deep oceans so very little is known about their life cycle. What is known is that they periodically rise to the surface in order to take in massive quantities of air and feed on a type of tiny shellfish that swims near the surface in large shoals. Radioactive dating suggests that Engorian whales live for thousands of years. After centuries of sightings Engorian whales have been split into a handful of distinct groups: The standard Engorian whale - the G''reyback'' - measures between 1 and 1.5 km long and has light grey skin. A rarer variety, known as the Spearskull, has jet black skin and has a body that measures around 2 km long. It also has a single long tusk protruding directly forwards from its skull that brings its total length to approx. 2.5 km. They are valued for the large amount of ivory they produce once processed. Approximately one in twenty Engorian whale sightings are Spearskulls. In addition to this roughly one in ten Spearskulls have an extra tusk, these are known as Twinheads and prized for their rarity. Twinheads are the rarest variety of Engorian whale that have ever been successfully hunted. The rarest type of Engorian whale is known as the Great White. Many professional hunters believe the Great White to be a single Engorian whale that has been sighted multiple times, whereas others believe it to be the final stage of the species' life cycle and only attained by the most ancient Engorian whales. Regardless of the truth of the matter no one has ever successfully hunted the Great White, and over a dozen separate hunting parties have been lost attempting to do so over the years. The Great White's body measures 3km long, with the addition of a 1km long tusk bringing the total length to 4km. Hunting an Engorian whale follows roughly the same procedure regardless of type. The first step is to hide among a shoal of the shellfish and let oneself be swallowed whole by the whale. After passing into the digestive system one must navigate the dank interior (as well as avoiding or defeating any intestinal parasites encountered) until a valve leading to the respiratory system is located. Navigating the inside of a whale is more difficult in larger whales, along with an increased chance of encountering parasites. After passing through this valve the hunters must reach the lungs, braving the respiratory parasites as they do so. Once inside the lungs the hunters must cut their way through a specific membrane in order to enter the cardiac chamber. This is a massive chamber that houses the whale's four house-sized hearts. These hearts must all be blown open in order to kill the whale, and simultaneously to cause instant death. Should unsynchronised destruction occur the whale will writhe and spasm so violently that the hunting party could easily be killed. It's also important that the hunting party is located at the base of the whale's blowhole (located in the lungs) during detonation of the hearts, so they are expelled (relatively) safely by the massive death exhale. The parasites inside Engorian whales are both disturbing & lethal, and can easily kill the unprepared hunter. 'Intestinal Parasites' Bowel Lurker Movement: 6 / 12 / 18 / 36 Armour: Natural Chitin (All 2) Wounds: 8 Total TB: 2 Skills: Awareness (Per); Silent Move (Agi) Traits: Bestial, Size (Scrawny), Improved Natural Weapons, Quadruped, Dark Sight, Toxic (Septic). Weapons: Gnashing Jaws (Melee; 1d10+2 R; Pen 0). *'Septic': Intestinal parasites are coated in the foul excretions of the whale's digestive tract. When exposed to the open wounds of an unfortunate explorer this foulness can have awful effects, poisoning the bloodstream and tainting the body. The skin erupts in foul lesions, organs rupture, and the nervous system spasms uncontrollably as the body is assailed by the bacterial nightmare. Anyone who suffers a wound from a creature with the Toxic (Septic) trait suffers from the effects of a poison with the profile / - / Lethal, the Toughness test to resist this poison is taken at the end of the whole encounter and suffers a -10 modifier for each full 2 wounds caused by a creature with the Toxic (Septic) trait over the course of the encounter. Bowel Walker Movement: 6 / 12 / 18 / 36 Armour: Natural Chitin (All 4) Wounds: 20 Total TB: 5 Skills: Awareness (Per); Silent Move (Agi) Traits: Bestial, Size (Hulking), Multiple Arms, Improved Natural Weapons, Projectile Attack, Deadly, Quadruped, Brutal Charge, Dark Sight, Toxic (Septic) Weapons: Raking Claws (Melee; 1d10+5 R; Pen 0). Barbed Spewer (Ranged; 15m; S/-/3; 1d10+3 I; Pen 0). 'Respiratory Parasites' Lungfly Swarm Movement: 3 / 6 / 9 / 18 Armour: None Wounds: 10+1d40 Total TB: 1 Skills: Awareness (Per); Dodge (Agi) Traits: Bestial, Size (Swarm), Swarm Creature, Overwhelming, Deadly, Dark Sight, Improved Natural Weapons, Flyer (6). Weapons: Mandibles (Melee; 1d10 R; Pen 1d5). Lungworm Movement: 1 / 2 / 3 / 6 Armour: None Wounds: 45 Total TB: 8 Skills: None Traits: Bestial, Size (Enormous), Unnatural Tougness (x2), Unnatural Strength (x2), Natural Weapons, Dark Sight, Strange Physiology, Consume. *'Consume': When the Lungworm's target is reduced to 0 wounds it will stop using the attack below and instead attempt to consume the unfortunate victim through its sphinctor-like mouth. When the Lungworm next attacks, the victim must pass an Ordinary (+10) Agility test or be caught by the lungworm's gaping maw. If passed then it passes to the victim's turn. If failed then in the victim's following turn they must pass an opposed Strength test with the lungworm to pull themselves free of the mouth. If passed the process restarts. If this is failed the victim is dragged into the Lungworm's digestive sac. When inside the lungworm's sac any exposed locations suffer d5 critical damage per round from the acidic juices. Any unexposed locations will be unharmed for a number of rounds equal to that location's AV. After this number of turns the location suffers d5 critical damage per round. A victim may continue to make attacks against the lungworm while inside the sac. In order to be freed from the sac the lungworm must be killed and an suitable slicing implement must be available to open the sac. Slicing open the sac after the lungworm has been killed takes one full round. Weapons: Body Slam (Melee; 2d10+12 I; Pen 0; Primitive). Category:Planet Category:Independent World Category:Subsector Deus